Us-China will reach Tiktok’s “framework” deal ahead of deadline
US officials say they have reached a “framework” deal with China over ownership of the new Tiktok ahead of the September 17 ban deadline.
After nine months of waiting, Tiktok sales may be close by.
President Donald Trump suggests that on September 15, the US and China have reached an agreement to sell popular social media platforms to US buyers. The announcement came two days before the next ban deadline for social media platforms on September 17th.
“We’ve also reached a deal for a ‘specific’ company that our country’s youth wanted to save. They will be very happy! ” Trump wrote in a social media post.
Speaking to Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 19, Trump said he would add that their relationship was “very strong.”
At a trade meeting between the US and Chinese officials in Madrid on September 15, US trade representative Jamieson Greer said the framework agreement would be to switch the app to US ownership, according to a Reuters report.
“We believe we have an agreement, which is subject to leadership approval,” Greer said according to Reuters.
Let’s take a look at how it turned out here as potential deals approach.
April 2024: Biden signs protecting Americans from foreign hostile application laws
After years of discourse on the prevalence of tiktok in the United States, then-President Joe Biden signed Americans in April 2024 protecting Americans from hostile foreign application laws.
For years, some government officials have expressed concern that Tiktok is a national security threat. Tiktok repeatedly denied these claims.
Biden’s federal law gave them consolidation until January 19, 2025, until they sold Tiktok or made the platform illegal for distribution in the US. Under the law, app stores and internet service providers have made Tiktok unavailable in the US if the platform was not on sale.
January 2025: Bidders lined up
Project Liberty, an initiative aimed at decentralizing the internet, created by billionaire and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, announced its Tiktok bid on January 11th.
Project Liberty president Tomica Tillman said in a statement that the organization would not disclose the bid amount. However, the group previously said it had secured a $2 billion oral commitment from a group of investors ready to bid on Tiktok.
Kevin O’Leary, known as Mr. Wonderformy in the reality television series Shark Tank, and Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, joined McCourt in this effort.
In a cheeky X post on January 13th, YouTuber James “Jimmy” Donaldson, commonly known as Mrbeast, expressed interest in throwing a hat into a Tiktok ring. There was a lot of traffic on the post, and Donaldson told the fans to contact “so many billionaires” and see if they could actually help them move forward with the deal.
In late January, a consortium of investors led by Employer.com founder and CEO Jesse Tinsley announced that it had made an official all-cash offer to buy Tiktok’s US assets. Donaldson was part of the consortium, according to a news release from law firm Paul Hastings.
January 18, 2025: Tiktok is dark
On the evening of January 18th, Tiktok became dark for our users. This is because Baitedans did not sell the platform by the set deadline. This platform was not available for use in less than 24 hours via the mobile app or website.
January 19, 2025: Tiktok has been revised
The day before he took office, Trump told tech companies he would sign an executive order on the day of inauguration and temporarily suspend the ban. He promised that companies supporting Tiktok services across the United States would not face any impact by doing so.
Tiktok was restored in the US on January 19th, but users without apps have not yet returned to the app store and were unable to download it.
January 20, 2025: Trump signs first executive order to revive the platform
Two days after Tiktok was dark for our users, Trump signed an executive order to suspend enforcement of the 75-day ban (ends April 5th).
February 13, 2025: Tiktok reappears in the app store
Tiktok was restored to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store on February 13, weeks after Trump told media companies that he could regain its platform without any consequences.
April 2, 2025: Amazon submits Tiktok bids
Amazon submitted a bid for its social media platform on April 2, according to Reuters and the New York Times.
April 4, 2025: Trump signs a second executive order to push back the ban deadline
On April 4, a day before the first executive order protecting Tiktok, Trump signed another executive order, pushing the deadline back until June 19th.
June 19, 2025: Trump signs a third executive order to delay the ban
Trump signed an executive order on June 19th, pushing back the ban on Tiktok for a third time. The new deadline was set for September 17th.
July 24, 2025: Tiktok will get dark if his contract is hit, Rutnik says
In a July 24 interview with CNBC, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that unless China approves a US draft transaction to sell Tiktok’s American assets, the app will be bleak after the September 17 deadline.
September 15: Trump hints at deals
In a true social post on September 15th, Trump suggested that a contract with China has been reached to get Tiktok to operate in the US.
Contributions: US Kinsey Crowley, Today; Reuters
Gretacross is a national trend reporter for USA Today. Story ideas? Please email her gcross@usatoday.com.
